Urban landscapes are an important part of the daily lives of most of the population of the western world. Buildings, streets, gardens and parks are a fundamental means by which we orientate ourselves within cities, and contribute significantly to our daily levels of efficiency and well-being (or lack of them). The creation and maintenance of the urban environment accounts for a sizeable proportion of public and private expenditure. Yet despite the controversy surrounding a few special places, the people and forces responsible for shaping ordinary town and city landscapes have rarely been systematically investigated and are poorly understood.

By viewing urban landscapes in relation to the individuals and organizations responsible for their creation, this book supplies a crucial missing dimension to urban landscape history and a sharp insight into the dynamics of contemporary urban change.

J. W. R. Whitehand graduated and later gained his PhD and DSc at the University of Reading. He has held lecturing appointments at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Glasgow, and is currently Professor of Urban Geography at the University of Birmingham. His previous books include The changing Face of Cities.